3-D industry needs quality control

Right-eye/left-eye images need balance

3-D, unique among movie formats, holds the seeds of its own destruction.

Technically poor 3-D, or even 3-D that’s too aggressive and separates the right- and left-eye images too widely, can be painful enough to induce a long-term aversion to 3-D.

“This is what happened in the ’50s and ’80s,” says helmer Eric Brevig. “It was the uncomfortable 3-D that killed it.”

So the entire industry has a stake in maintaining quality control.

Brevig says, “You need standards like the broadcast standards, (with) the right-eye and left-eye image having a certain amount of parity, unless it is for a creative effect.”Brevig adds that something like the current THX certification would be a good idea.

3-D pioneer Vince Pace goes further: “I feel the best resolution will be some sort of rating system that measures the separation of the images and says, ‘This can be harmful to the eyes.’ If it’s an R-rated movie, people know there’s language and nudity. It would be nice to see someday that we had something like that for 3-D so someone’s not subjected to extreme disparity.”